5 Things You Might Not Know About Your Baby’s Poop Color

Few things intrigue parents more than their baby’s poop. As a parent, I’m sure you’ve found yourself discussing your baby’s poop at the most inappropriate times, such as at the company Christmas party or even at the dinner table.

Baby With Poopy Diapers (Photo credit: Flickr – Lotus Caroll)

Baby poop color is particularly intriguing. The range of colors that come out of those little tushies is utterly astonishing at times.

The chromatic color scheme in your little one’s diaper can be influenced by a number of factors, ranging from her age to her diet to your diet, if you’re breastfeeding. So, we’ve rounded up a list of five things you may not know about one of your most favorite topics – baby poop color!

1. It’s not hard to determine whether a baby is being breastfed or formula fed just by looking at the color of his poop.

Breast milk and formula can both have an impact on a baby’s stool color. As a general rule, breastfed babies have more of a yellow colored stool, while formula fed babies have more of a brown colored stool. Iron fortified formula, however, can also cause a baby to pass green or very dark stools as well.

If you’re a breastfeeding mom, you probably already know that whatever you ingest is also passed to your baby. It can even cause your breast milk and your baby’s stool to turn funky colors. Brightly colored foods, like carrots and beets, are often the most common culprit of rainbow baby poop, but medications and supplements can also have an effect on the color of your baby’s stool.

3. Bright red or pink baby poop is not necessarily a cause for alarm.

When most parents are faced with a bright red or pink diaper, they’re quick to panic. However, a bright red stool usually doesn’t usually mean that there’s blood in the stool. Instead, bright red baby poop usually just means that baby has ingested something that was red, like beets or fruit punch. On the other hand, hard stools can also tear the delicate tissue of the anus, resulting in bright red streaks in the stool or the diaper.

4. Teething can affect the color of your baby’s poop.

One of the main signs of teething in a baby – besides fussiness, of course – is excessive saliva production. Although copious amounts of drool are likely to spill from your little ones mouth at this time, a great deal of it is also swallowed. Not only can this make your baby’s stools loose, but it can also make it very pale as well.

5. There is no such thing as a “normal” baby poop color, no matter what anyone tells you.

The truth is that there is really no one color your baby’s stool should be. As you’ll find out, your baby’s stool color will change often, sometimes from day to day. Some of the causes of unusual stool color can be identified, while others are bound to remain an odiferous mystery.

Well, hopefully we’ve given you a few little tidbits to share during your next baby poop rant. Now you can entertain your significant other, mother-in-law, and coworkers not only with the color of your baby’s poop, but also the possible cause of her kaleidoscopic diapers.

And if they don’t want to hear about it, we certainly do, so don’t be shy about sharing anecdotes or insight about baby poop color!